A group from Brgy. Pahanocoy, Bacolod City, called on authorities to check on the legality of a reclamation project that is allegedly affecting livelihoods and causing floods.
The Pahanocoy Anti-Reclamation Movement (PARM), in a statement issued following a press conference at the Negros Press Club in Bacolod on Monday, October 9, said they strongly oppose the ongoing coastal reclamation project in their community, which they claimed is led by Engineer Andres Taculod.
The project, which seeks to appropriate more than 700 hectares of Pahanocoy’s coastline, has raised significant concerns among the locals, it said.
“Over a dozen neighborhoods have already felt the repercussions of this encroachment, including the destruction of vital mangrove ecosystems, changes to local waterways, and the depletion of natural resources,” the group said.
PARM is composed of the residents affected by the Brgy. Pahanocoy coastal reclamation project.
The statement said that the PARM is objecting to the reclamation project as it led to severe flood incidents, especially during Typhoon Egay in July.
“More than twelve neighborhoods in Pahanocoy have seen their primary income source, which depended on the coastline, vanish,” it said, adding “Families are now struggling to put food on the table due to Engineer Andres Taculod’s project”.
The group also claimed that Taculod’s project proceeded without obtaining proper authorization from relevant agencies.
These agencies include the Barangay Council and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.*